A shooting club receptionist who stole more than £42,000 from her employer has been warned to prepare herself for the "overwhelming likelihood" she is going to jail.

Dishonest Joanne Coupland, 57 - who was branded "evil" by her victim - was caught on CCTV cameras installed by her suspicious employer regularly taking "handfuls" of £20 and £10 notes from the till at Park Lodge Shooting Club, in West Cowick, near Goole.

When she was interviewed by police, Coupland, who was in "dire" financial straights after the break-up of her marriage, admitted stealing between £600 and £800.

When a fact-finding trial was held at Hull Crown Court this week, Coupland - who admitted theft in July last year - changed the figure she admitted stealing to £3,000.

Hull Crown Court

Prosecutors said the figure was over £42,000, but after finding in the prosecution's favour, Recorder Darren Preston said although the actual amount could not be known, she had stolen even more than that, as that only related to till receipts she had "voided", and did not include the cash taken straight from the till.

Adjourning sentencing until May 23, the judge said he had come "very close" to remanding her in custody, but granting Coupland bail, he told her: "You need to understand the overwhelming likelihood is there's going to be a custodial sentence, and it's highly likely it's going to be immediate and you need to get yourself ready for that."

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Coupland, of Braithwaite Lane, Doncaster, also admitted fraud, which related to her getting a job at Marks & Spencer while failing to disclose she was on bail for the theft offence at the time.

Her one previous conviction came at Doncaster Magistrates' Court on July 3, 2015, when she was convicted of the theft of a wallet containing £1,000.

Coupland, who showed no emotion as Recorder Preston delivered his judgement, had tried to blame shooting club owner Tom Bayston, claiming she had been asked by him to put money aside for a fine he owed.

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But the judge called her evidence "disengenous, dishonest, and thoroughly unreliable".

Describing the impact on him, his family and the business, Mr Bayston called Coupland "evil, devious and underhand", and said the stress of the case had taken over their lives.

He told the court: "I now struggle to trust any employees. I not only classed her as a trusted employee but as a trusted friend, someone Sharon [his wife] was happy to disclose her feelings to. She even rewarded her with spa trips away, sharing the same room.